Suspension laryngoscopy using a curved-frame trans-oral robotic system

Abstract

Suspension laryngoscopy has been employed for laryngeal diseases such as treatment for a polyp, cystoma, or granuloma. After securing a straight path with a laryngoscope, the surgeon inserts rigid instruments and examines the target lesion by using a microscope. However, many patients suffer from secondary complications due to the use of a rigid laryngoscope. In addition, about 11-12 % of patients cannot be operated on using laryngoscope because of anatomical restrictions. A surgical method to treat patients using a curved-frame trans-oral robotics system was developed. A new surgical procedure is investigated using a new surgical robot system that employs a curved frame as a guide to insert flexible instruments into the target lesion. For this, a master-slave robotic system was developed, and the performance of the proposed procedure was tested by using a phantom laryngeal model. A routine laryngeal polypectomy procedure was simulated and performed using flexible instruments guided by a master-slave surgical robot in suspension laryngoscopy. A surgical robotic system was able to perform routine procedures to remove a polyp in the vocal cord under clinically realistic conditions on an adult phantom.